As we have every year since 1975, my father, brother and I are at the Long Beach Grand Prix. And much to my dismay, this will be the last time that it hosts the Formula 1 circus.

Strolling by myself through the packed Vendor Row, I am handed a free issue of some magazine called On Track. It has a cool photo of Niki Lauda on the cover, and since he’s one of my faves, I start flipping through the pages.

In a small industrial town in the southeast of Germany, my grandfather is about to die. Cornered by Nazi soldiers, his outbursts and protests against the Third Reich are going to come to a bloody, violent end. He will leave behind a wife, twin daughters, and an eight year old son.